A few thoughts on the subject-
I was working on my '69 VW (back in about '71) and dropped the
generator(!) woodruff key into the heating ductwork on the motor. I
borrowed my dad's '69 International Harvester Travelall which had the
biggest gas motor they put in them at the time. I was on a (then)
rural 4 lane roadway, driving with purpose as a pissed off teenager
will. Accelerating down that road, foot hard on the gas, the throttle
return spring broke and the pedal went to the floor. The car
immediately downshifted. I tried to put my foot under the pedal but it
was flat on the floor. I Shifted into N and turned off the key at the
same time. By then I was doing well over 65 as I remember. Hauling
that thing to the curb without power steering was a real chore! I was
able to bend and reattach the spring and was fine after that.
The reason I tell the above story (and looking at the report below) I
think that cars are so dependable now and so few people work on their
own cars today (because they mostly can't be worked on) that a lot of
kids today don't understand how cars work and don't know what to do in
an emergency. That is also partly because cars are so dependable and
don't break down. There is another factor- cars today handle like race
cars. Body roll has all been eliminated and chassis are stiffer, rack
and pinion and 4 wheel disc anti-lock brakes, incredible tires, and
much more all combine to give drivers of the common sedan a sense of
control and confidence that only race cars and sports cars gave two
decades ago (generally speaking). Because of that, a lot of drivers
(and particularly young drivers) don't know what to do in an emergency
incident whether it is a "stuck" throttle or a car that breaks loose
from the roads's surface. How many people today know how to power out
of a slide in a corner or how to steer with a skid? Most would panic
and either freeze up or slam the brakes.
I am not at all defending the throttle in this model of volvo nor
defending Volvo, but I wanted to remind parents to teach their kids
about these sorts of things, and if you don't know, maybe get you kid
into a course where they can learn. Maybe even take them into an
empty. pole-free parking lot on a rainy day and teach them what to do
when a car skids or slides. Let them learn the limits of the brakes
and steering.
Don't let them loose on the street to learn these things "by
accident."
And think about getting some similar experience yourself. After some
20 years and 65,000+ miles of riding a motorcycle on the street I took
the MSF Experienced Rider's Course and improved my riding quite a bit.
When you think you are good enough or know enough, that is when you
become dangerous.
~^ beancounter ~^ said:
---------news snip i came across------------------
Make : VOLVO Model : V70XC Year : 2001
Manufacturer : VOLVO CARS OF N.A. LLC.
Crash : Yes Fire : No Number of Injuries: 1
ODI ID Number : 10134909 Number of Deaths: 1
Date of Failure: July 18, 2005
VIN : YV1SZ58D811...
Component: VEHICLE SPEED CONTROL
Summary:
MY DAUGHTER WAS KILLED WHILE DRIVING MY VOLVO WHEN IT MALFUNCTIONED AND
SHE
LOST CONTROL. PER THE ACCIDENT REPORT, SHE WAS CHANGING LANES FROM THE
FAR
RIGHT TO MIDDLE LANE WHEN SHE ACCELERATED INTO THE LEFTMOST LANE, HIT
AND
BOUNDED OFF THE LEFMOST GUARDRAIL, COLLIDED WITH A CAR IN THE CENTER
LANE,
PROCEEDED OVER THE RIGHTMOST GUARDRAIL OF A BRIDGE, THROUGH A TREETOP,
DROPPED 30 FEET, LANDED UPSIDE DOWN, AND ROLLED REPEATEDLY, EVENTUALLY
STOPPING IN A CONCRETE CREEKBANK. SHE WAS WEARING HER SEATBELT BUT
KILLED
INSTANTLY UPON IMPACT. IT APPEARS SHE WAS NOT SPEEDING SIGNIFICANTLY
PRIOR
TO THE ACCIDENT BUT UNEXPECTEDLY BEGAN ACCELERATING AS SHE WAS CHANGING
LANES AND LOST CONTROL OF THE VEHICLE. I HAVE HAD SIMILAR PROBLEMS WITH
THE
CAR PREVIOUSLY BUT BELIEVED THEY HAD BEEN CORRECTED BY VOLVO WHEN THEY
REPLACED THE ELECTRONIC THROTTLE MODULE. THERE WERE NO OTHER
CONTRIBUTING
FACTORS IN THE ACCIDENT -- WEATHER WAS CLEAR, VISIBILITY WAS GOOD,
ROADS
WERE DRY, TRAFFIC WAS MODERATE AND FLOWING WELL, AND IT WAS EARLY
AFTERNOON
AND MY DAUGHTER WAS FINE PRIOR TO THE ACCIDENT. I HAVE HAD AN ACCIDENT
RECONSTRUCTION EXPERT LOOK AT THE ACCIDENT REPORT AND AVAILABLE
EVIDENCE AND
HE BELIEVES IT WAS CAUSED BY MECHANICAL FAILURE.
(also on Edmonds)
I have had an accident reconstruction expert investigate the accident
and he believes mechanical failure, most likely the ETM module, caused
the crash. Unfortunately, since very few complaints have alleged
acceleration due to ETM failure (either as a direct result of the
failure or in overcompensation for reduced performance caused by the
failure), this is a hard case to prove. However, we've been unable to
come up with any other reasonable explanation, and the ETM had failed
and been replaced on my car before.
__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
"Shelby" & "Kate"
